[VegasRigged]

Drawing on the memory of the map I pick a building with a clear view of the third team, the one who is not intended for a trap. i drop my invisibility spell, creep to the edge of the roof and, crouching low at the lip, peek over and cast a missive illusion of an earth spirit in front of them.

ooc: with things getting properly hot, I suppose I should ask if theirs a dice app I should use. If you don't mind at home rolls I got 5 hits on a force 7 illusion. Two points of physical drain.

[Mercy Merchant]

@Cynthia   Nothing.   At first nothing.  Then more nothing.  Then you begin to see a glow on the horizon and race towards it.  What you find is a campfire.  A friging campfire.  A tent is off to one side, open to the heat and a stack of firewood is piled near the small blaze.  Someone is whistling from inside the tent and you can make out a form illuminated by the firelight.  A man emerges by crawling backwards and stands up, bones creaking audibly.  He puts his hands on his hips and bends backward a bit.  "Ahhh.  That is better.  I am too old to be sitting on rocks like this waiting for people like you, but there it is.  Somebody has to do it.  I see you found me.  To avoid making you mad, I will not ask if you are ready, so let's just get to it."

Gene reaches out with a hand and makes a plucking motion, as if on a guitar or base drum or harp or................well, you get the point.  A shimmering strand of energy appears, stretching straight out from where he plucked it, going off into the distance in both directions.  "I should not have to ask you, but do you know what this is?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #163

Cynthia's eyes bulge from their orbits. Her mouth works silently for a moment while she details Gene, before she coughs lightly.  "Nice place you have here... Much better than where I was just recently in any case." She turns around, looking at the situation, as much to see how it is as to regain some composure.

When he produces this shimmering strand of something, she frowns, looking alternatively at both directions "I hope you shouldn't have to ask because you know I have no idea what it is...". After a couple of seconds, she makes a guess "Is that a manifestation of Resonance?"

[Mercy Merchant]

@Cynthia   "Got it in one.  Yes, it is resonance.  If you listen to it carefully you can hear it hum, almost like music."  Gene smiles then points first along one direction the resonance strand is going then the other.  "One direction is the origin point, the other is the end, or utilization point.  Some times it is hard to tell which is which and normally it makes no difference.  I mean, resonance is just resonance, right.  But we are in search of the origin point so we want to guess right the first time or we will be walking a long ways for nothing and will just have to come back and start over.  Here, reach out your hand and feel the strand.  Not too tightly and not too long.  Tell me what you feel."


[spoiler]The strand feels like it is alive and you think you can tell which direction it is going to.

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #164

"Oh. Cool." For a couple of seconds, she stops breathing, intently focused on this "music". When she hears, it, she nods "Yeah, I hear it."

Tentatively, she reaches out to the strand of light, holding it like she would a living animal she didn't want to crush. With a tone full of wonder, she says "It feels...alive..."

She cocks her head, eyes half closed for a second. Then, as if really sure of herself, she points in the direction of the origin "The origin is that way." She stops, then adds, a lot less confident "I'm pretty sure it is, anyway. It is right?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Gene smiles.  "Yes, it is alive.  Resonance is one of the basic building blocks of all life.  There are others, but you are here to learn about resonance.  He moves a bit to settle the pack and points to one at your feet.  When you point out  adirection, he says, "Don't know.  This is your test, not mine.  If you get it wrong, we will be just be here longer and might run out of food and water, thus depriving our bodies of the nourishment needed to survive and then we die.  Or more particularly, you die, as I do not really need this nourishment.  So, are you sure?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #165

Scowling, Cynthia answers "As sure as I can be without checking, given that it's my first time here"

She looks at the packs for a second, and smiles, calling to mind a cat spotting a prey "And should it be necessary, I'll just have to steal your pack right?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Monday   11 June 2075  0408   Vory Neighborhood   Seattle Barrens   Seattle


@Echo   Vlad nods at your words as he leads you to one of the buildings he has termed the second line.  He is getting briefings as he walks through the door and the place looks a lot like a military command center, except for the number of armed women and children running around.  Gunfire and small explosions are now constant and two men walk in, carrying a third and take him to a corner where a man and three women get to work on him.  You also see several other wounded in the area as well as four bodies with sheets drawn over their faces.  Vlad looks impassive and calm through the briefing and sends men out.  He barks out some orders and three young men report to him.  Turning to you, Vlad says, "We have had a report of some sort of monster appearing in the road.  It seems to be interfering with the mercs so would seem to have been summoned by someone who is trying to help us.  I need to know what is going on.  These men have come from the area and can take you there if you want to help us identify the thing and perhaps make contact with this friendly mage."

@Eva   The illusion is good, as far as illusions go, but some people are just too damned willful to believe such things.  You see more then half the men in the area stop moving forward.  Two begin to run away and are immediately shot by one of the others, while the rest begin firing on the fake spirit.  The rest of the men are apparently unaffected and move past the thing as if it were not there.


Some Day   Some Date   Some Time  Cynthia's Alternate Reality


@Cynthia   Gene looks at you with a wry grin.  "Then I will just have to watch over you, won't I?  And are you sure that you have never been here before?  You came right to where I was and you seem to have a passing familiarity with resonance.  But come on, let's head off in the direction you pointed to.  I will wait for you to change your clothes into more suitable for a long hike.  I think you will find what you need inside the tent.  It is a bit close in there, but it is private.  But do not take too long, the nurse will be back before long."

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #166

Cynthia nods "Yes I'm sure. Unless I really have big memory problems that is, which I think unlikely. Outside of this...er...whatever it was earlier that is."

Without saying more, she gets in the tent to quickly change, not paying attention to the esthetics side of things, more concerned to have suitable pants, socks and shoes, as well as a t-shirt. If there are any, she grabs a sweatshirt, and a change of panties and socks, to put in the pack in case she would need them. Once done, she gets out and nods to Gene "Ready."

[Mercy Merchant]

@Cynthia   Gene nods and gives you an approving look.  "Tarnation, girl.  If I were several centuries younger I might try to see if some sort of human and...........well, whatever I really am............romance is possible.  Anyone ever tell you how attractive you are?"  You notice that the string of light is now almost invisible as he approaches it.  He plucks it again and the string immediately lights up, pointing in a straight path forward and backward.  Gene nods at you and sets off at a pace that you can easily match, using the walking stick that has somehow appeared in his right hand.  "Long ways to go in a short time, so might as well be at it."

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #167

Cynthia laughs lightly "Yeah, he's called Arsène. Or well, I call him Arsène that is. But he would tell that to any female given the opportunity so..." she shrugs. "As for romance..." she snorts "I don't believe it should be based on appearances. Maybe age but even that is more a question of a...how should I say...a commonality of interests, experience, and so on, more than a simple number."

With a nod, she follows Gene at his level but the strand between them, pensive. After a while, she asks "Surely you're not alone here, right, there must be others like you? Would have been pretty lonely otherwise I suppose..."

[Mercy Merchant]

Gene chuckles as he looks across the strand at you.  "I am not from here, but am a visitor just like you.  No creature can survive here for long.  At least, I hope that we do not meet anything that can stay here as that would be one bad-ass creature.  Your sprite friends would have already fled or died and I will be gone before long, too.  You are mortal and can withstand the power here longer than we can, but even you would soon succumb to what is here.  No, the real reason to get in and out quickly is not to avoid running out of food, it is to avoid being caught up and added to the resonance pool."

"But on another point, yes I get lonely at times.  Are you putting yourself forward as someone willing to alleviate some of that loneliness?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #168

"Oh." Cynthia looks around for a second, then adds "Yeah. I wouldn't mind it if the Resonance Pool grew I suppose, but I'd rather not be a part of it. Until I die anyway, after that, it beats nothing I suppose. Maybe..." she shrugs.

She walks silently for a minute or two, then talks again "Anyone could use a friend. Even you. Or me. It always amazed me however when people decided to be friends, just like that. Me, I'm more a No company is better than bad company kind of girl." she smiles "Not that you're bad company. Or I don't think you are anyway." she shrugs "What I'm trying to say is that to me, becoming friends is something that should happen, not something sought-after. And only when you know the person reasonably well."

Cynthia looks at the sky for a moment, then adds "Of course, I don't have many friends as a consequence. But when I do make friends, it is important." she lets a few more seconds pass, then looks at Gene "The main question for all this would be what happens when you and I leave this place. If we never see each other again, it's a moot point."

She laughs a bit "As it would be if you were saying this to all those that came here I suppose. Or if to you, friends are little more than acquaintances." she shakes her head "Not that I would condemn you, there are plenty of people like that and it's not a bad thing. I think. It just doesn't feel right to me, that's all."

[Mercy Merchant]

Gene shrugs.  "Well, I am not sure what to say to all that.  I am pretty much like you, more or less.  Or so I think, without really knowing that much about you.  But you did ask and I responded.  To be very honest, I do not think I have ever had a friend.  Where I come from, you see, it is all so....................different.  And I really do not know if we will ever see each other again after this is over.  I do not know much about the subject, ut cannot friendships be formed over a short period, even if the friends must separate and never meet again?  Does the separation alone disband or prevent the friendship?  Also, I am not sure what you mean by acquaintance instead of friend.  These are words that I do not really understand the difference between."

The light of the place never seems to change, but that provided from the stream of resonance dims and Gene plucks it anew several times as you walk.  Eventually, he points to a slight rise along your path in the near distance.  "We have made good time.  Talking seems to help that.  I appreciate your willingness to talk to an old man.  I think that you will find the accommodations suitable, but rather spartan, I am afraid.  Perhaps an hour or so more to get there."

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 11^th, 2075 - In a...dream?] #169

Cynthia walks silently for a moment, pensive "I can't say I ever thought that much about it... To me an acquaintance is someone to whom you don't have any emotional attachment. You don't mean them ill or anything, but it doesn't really matter. Whereas for friends, it really matters. You're happy if they're happy, sad if they are, etc. As for the duration of friendship..."

She thinks about it for a moment "It's not that not being able to meet a friend ever again voids friendship, even if it is sad. It's more a matter of friendship takes time to build I think. Or it does in most cases probably. Who knows, maybe we already are, even if I don't know a think about you except your name, and you don't know much about me either..."

When Gene points to the rise, she shrugs "I don't mind spartan. I live spartan. Or almost spartan anyway." frowning, she considers Gene "You know, I don't mind talking to you. I don't really know why, but I don't."

She walks silently for a minute, then out of the blue asks "So, how is it where you come from?"